Josh Sweat is back on Dallas Cowboys headlines, and unsurprisingly so. The Cowboys need pass rush help and at 2-4, the Arizona Cardinals will likely be sellers at the trade deadline.* But would a deal for him make sense? Let’s explore it.

*Note: The Cowboys are also 2-4 but hey, it sure helps to play in the NFC East, which they’re favored to win by most major prediction markets.

Sweat linked to Cowboys by NFL exec

Sweat, who had 12 sacks last year, has been unhappy with his situation in Arizona and makes for an intriguing trade candidate. So why did the speculation return? Well, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler from ESPN brought it back by citing an anonymous league executive.

“One team exec pointed out to me Tuesday, Josh Sweat to Dallas makes a lot of sense,” Fowler wrote. “He fits Dallas’ profile, and the Cowboys need edge-rush help.”

It’s not hard to see why Sweat fits the Cowboys’ profile. He’s under contract through 2028 and is more than a one-year rental, which fits what Dallas targeted when it made in-season moves for Jonathan Mingo (2024) and Quinnen Williams (2025).

However, it’s precisely that which could leave to a higher cost for Sweat than expected. At least our A to Z Sports Trade Simulator suggests so.

Projected trade comp for Sweat might be too high

If you haven’t used our trade simulator yet, let me explain how it works. Every player and pick is assigned a points value, and you get to add them in trade offers to see who wins each trade and when it reaches a “fair value.”

Upon the Sweat speculation reappearing, I fired up immediately to try to make something work. I struggled to find something that’s worth it, to be honest. And that largely has to do with the fact that the Cardinals edge rusher hasn’t looked nearly as good as he did in 2025 and concerns of declining play should exist (more on that later).

As of right now, the trade simulator has Sweat at a value of 477. That falls somewhere between third-round and fourth-round value. The Cowboys lack a third-round pick and the only fourth rounder they’ve got (via Pittsburgh) sits at 276 points.

Below are a few trade packages I was able to get to “fair value” on the simulator.

• 2027 fourth-round pick (via PIT), 2028 fourth-round pick
• 2028 third-round pick, 2028 fifth-round pick
• 2028 third-round pick, EDGE James Houston

All of the above are a little too rich for my taste. The simulator takes all factors into account to assign value to players, from current production to contract situation. For Sweat, I think the latter is ballooning his value. In other words, the Cowboys would be paying a premium for contract control, not on-field impact.

Sweat’s impact is down this year

We’re only six weeks into the 2026 NFL season but Sweat isn’t looking like his usual self right now. On tape, you see a player struggling to get off blocks and not getting to the quarterback like he did in 2025.

The numbers back it up, too. Sweat’s sacks per 100 pass rushing snaps has dropped from 3.5 (6th in the NFL) to 1.6 (43rd), via Sumer Sports. His pressures and pass rush win rate numbers are also down.

Can the Cowboys afford to give up more draft capital when they’re already so short on it for a player with production concerns? I think not. Even less so when the defense has enough problems to question if Sweat will make that much of a difference anyways.

In my eyes, the Cowboys have to make a push for a better player or not at all. That being said, they still get three more games before the trade deadline set for Nov. 10. I don’t expect them to rush into any decisions.